It seemed like an open-and-shut case. But they couldn’t have been more wrong.

When a 25-year-old woman is found dead in Stockholm, detective Vanessa Frank knows that there is more to the case than meets the eye. And when Vanessa finds herself on the trail of a dangerous internet community who call themselves ‘incels’, her world starts to unravel.

These ‘involuntarily celibate’ men have fostered hatred towards the women who turn them down, and now women are turning up dead. But can Vanessa prove the connection, and is she ready to risk her life to do so?

‘Femicide’ is a heart-pounding scandi-noir from the Swedish writer Pascal Engman, that scours the dark side of the internet in a thriller that feels all too real. For fans of Jo Nesbo or Stieg Larsson, this is an absolute must-read from the next generation of crime writing.

‘It is one of the best Swedish crime novels I’ve read in years… impossible to put down.’ — Camilla Läckberg, author of the Fjällbacka and Faye series, with more than 26 million copies sold worldwide

‘It is irresistible reading.’ — David Lagercrantz, author of The Girl in the Spider’s Web — Millennium series by Stieg Larsson

‘Fresh, brilliant writing and utterly compelling. I loved it.’ — Peter James, UK No.1 bestselling author of the Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series

'He never lets go of the reader’s desire to know just how the hell this is going to go' Fredrik Backman, best-selling author of A Man Called Ove

Praise for Femicide

‘It is one of the best Swedish crime novels I’ve read in years… impossible to put down.’ — Camilla Läckberg, author of the Fjällbacka and Faye series, with more than 26 million copies sold worldwide

‘Fresh, brilliant writing and utterly compelling.

I loved it.’ — Peter James, UK No.1 bestselling author of the Detective

Superintendent Roy Grace series

‘[Pascal Engman] never lets go of the reader’s desire to know just how the hell this is going to go.’ —

Fredrik Backman, best-selling author of A Man Called Ove

‘There is an incredible drive in [Pascal Engman’s] prose, and a wonderful sense of dramaturgy. With a light hand he throws you into his dramas. It is irresistible reading.’ — David Lagercrantz, author of The Girl in the Spider’s Web — Millennium series by Stieg Larsson

‘[Pascal Engman] has an amazing ability to constantly accelerate the pace of the story. He absorbs the reader so you can’t stop reading.’ — Inga-Lill Mosander, Swedish journalist

Pascal Engman (1986) is a Swedish crime writer and former journalist. Pushed by his exposure to extremist views on social media, Pascal has become known for writing about the darkest reaches of the internet and the people behind the screen.

His Vanessa Frank detective series has achieved critical acclaim within the scandi-noir scene and includes works such as ‘The Widows’, ‘Cocaine’, and ‘Femicide’.

Femicide: the new shocking Scandinavian thriller (Vanessa Frank, 1)